63-Year-Old New York Man Swept by Rip Current Treads Water for 5 Hours Before Being Rescued

A 63-year-old man was dragged into open water by a riptide and treaded water for five hours until help arrived.

A rip current swept Dan Ho two miles from shore off the coast of Long Island, he tells Inside Edition. He was able to stay alive and keep himself afloat by treading water for five hours.

“You’re out in the ocean with no life preserver and I’m staying just above my mouth and my nose,” Ho says.

Ho saw a fishing rod floating nearby. He grabbed the rod, tied his shirt to it and then waved it like a flag.

Two friends, Jim Hohorst and Michael Ross, were on a fishing trip and spotted Ho a quarter of a mile away.

“We were both like, wow, this is a guy,” they tell Inside Edition.

Ross threw Ho a life preserver and brought him aboard.

“His lips were all blue. His body was grey. He was shaking all over,” the fishermen said. “Over and over again he kept saying, ‘I thought I was a goner, I thought I was a goner.'”

Ho was wrapped in a thermal blanket after being transferred to a police boat.

Ho has since reunited with the two strangers who came to his rescue.

Ho tells Inside Edition his endurance came from building up his stamina following a car accident in 2010. He says he is thankful to be alive.

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